Showing posts with label WRC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WRC. Show all posts

MINI to Pull Out of the WRC at the End of 2012 Pointing Towards the Financial Crisis as the Reason


Just as suddenly as it entered the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) after a decades-long hiatus in 2011, the BMW Group's MINI brand is abandoning the sport.

On Friday afternoon, the British carmaker announced that it will terminate its works involvement in the WRC at the end of the 2012 season by withdrawing its financial support for "WRC Team Mini Portugal".

The bad news came from Kay Segler, Senior Vice President MINI Business Coordination and Brand Management.

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Loeb Wins 9th Consecutive WRC Championship, Citroen Claims 8th Manufacturers’ Title


We bet that rivals of Sebastien Loeb wish that the 38-year old Alsatian hadn’t quit being a gymnast in favor of rally racing in 1995… If he had stuck to his former profession, Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena wouldn’t have done a Michael Schumacher (in his first Formula 1 stint) and dominate the FIA World Rally Championship.

Actually, they have outdone Schumi for they have won the WRC title nine years in a row after winning this weekend’s Rallye de France and helping Citroen secure its eight manufacturers’ title in the WRC.

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This is the Only Hyundai i20 You Really Want to Drive


The Hyundai i20 is fine for what it is – an affordable, "cookie cutter" supermini with an inoffensive design and all the usual amenities you expect from a modern-day model, but it’s not the kind of car that will excite you.

Unless, that is, we're talking about the racing version that made its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show last week and with which, the South Korean automaker will mark its return to the FIA World Rally Championship.

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Hyundai Announces Return to World Rally Championship With New i20-based Racer


If at first you don’t succeed, then try again. It took Hyundai almost nine years, but the South Korean automaker announced its return to the World Rally Championship (WRC) at the Paris Motor Show.

Hyundai’s previews attempt with the Accent WRC did not yield the results that the team expected, so it withdrew in 2003. However, it had a long-term goal of setting up an in-house racing team in Europe and competing in the world’s top rally championship.

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"OMG" Doesn't Even Begin to Describe this Amazing Mitsubishi EVO Rally Save


Carscoop reader Maciej sure captured our attention with his email tip titled "My Hero, OMG!" – and very rightfully so as you will soon discover for yourself.

We don't know how much of the fantastic save is attributed to luck and how much to the driver's talent, but what the man behind the wheel of the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO accomplished during the 21st edition of the Rzeszowski Rally in Poland (August 9 to 11) is not something you see every day.

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Toyota Develops Affordable Yaris R1A Rally Car


Toyota's Motorsport division will return to rallying with its new and affordable Yaris R1A that will make its first public appearance in the ninth round of the WRC at the ADAC Rallye Deutschland from August 24 to 26.

The TMG (Toyota Motorsports GmbH) Yaris R1A will participate as a "Zero Car", which means that it will run as a course vehicle to confirm road conditions and announce the start of each stage.

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Red Bull Poised to Become the New Promoter of the World Rally Championship


According to a recent report from Autosport, indications suggest that the ever-wealthy race enthusiasts at Red Bull will be taking over the sponsorship of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in the very near future.

When termination of the sponsorship contract by former promoters North One Sport occurred, FIA, the WRC 's governing body, began a frantic search for a new main sponsor for the championship series.

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Subaru to Debut BRZ Zero Car at 2012 Japan Rally Championship


Before you get too excited about the race-livered BRZ pictured above, let us tell you that "Zero Car" or "Opening Car" is a term used to describe a vehicle that opens the road for the competition models in rallies, meaning this is not a production edition.

Subaru will debut its new Zero Car, which is based on the regular BRZ sports coupe, at this weekend's 2012 Japan Rally Championship (July 28-29),

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Ford's Rally Drivers Race Against Each Other in a Different Kind of Sport


Taking advantage of the FIA World Rally Championship mid-season break, eight Ford rally drivers and co-drivers including Jari-Matti Latvala, Petter Solberg and Ott Tanak, left their Fiesta cockpits for a fun day full of racing activities of the second kind at the Blue Oval's European engineering facility at Dunton, UK.

The factory pilots used their own…two legs for power in demanding sporting disciplines such as the sack race, three-legged event and bean bag-on-the-head race in a node to the rapidly approaching London Olympics.

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